CHAPTER 2:

2.0. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

All over the world today, English is practiced and used in our daily lives because it has become an international language used for communication. Nowadays, English is also a major language used in our studies therefore learning English is definitely significant and required. As we can see, children as young as the age of 4 years old is taught the English language and even the elderly is still learning to acquire this particular language too. Nevertheless, each and every language learner has their own specific ways of learning and these variations depend differently for each and every learner. The term language learning strategy has been defined by many researchers. Wenden and Rubin (1987:19) define learning strategies as any sets of operations, steps, plans, routines used by the learner to facilitate the obtaining, storage, retrieval, and use of information. Whereas Richards and Platt (1992:209) state that learning strategies are intentional behavior and thoughts used by learners during learning so as to better help them understand, learn, or remember new information. On the other hand, Faerch Claus and Casper (1983:67) stress that a learning strategy is an attempt to develop linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the target language.

The learning process of English is not a simple task, thus in every effort there must come a challenge. In facing such challenges, students of the English language have to cope with many hindrances and it can be stressful at times. Hindrance, or in other words, obstacles brings the meaning of difficulty which is something that is trouble or stands in the way and must be solved. That is why t hese st ude nt s re quire consta nt e ffort a nd e ncourage me nt to help them overcome all the various psychological hindrances that they are facing. One important aspect is that the students fear too much. In this case phenomena, the study is to investigate the factors that hinder the non-English major students of University Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) in learning English. As according to Dr. Riaz Hassan, Pe rha ps not hing inhibite d non-nat iv e s pe ak e rs from us ing English or generated resentment for the language more than t h e f e a r o f b e i n g c o r r e c t e d o r r i d i c u l e d e v e r y t i m e t h e y open their mouth.

According to the educational psychology, learning is a cognitive process of acquiring new skills, values, preferences or understanding. Whereas the language learning strategies, being specific actions, behaviors, tactics, or techniques, facilitate the learning of the target language by the language learner. All language learners, needless to say, use language learning strategies in the learning process. Therefore, identifying students learning styles helps educators understand how people perceive and process information in different ways.

2.2 The hindrances and factors of learning the English language

Many researches have been done to solve this particular issue but up until today, we are still facing major problems regarding this problem. It was found that students of the English language seem to face hindrance in using the most useful strategy for learning English. Thus, researchers, teachers and educators worldwide are still trying to figure out the most preferable and effective method for the process of learning. The truth is, there is no specific skill for learning, but the techniques can definitely be varied to ultimately help improve the students English language skills.

The Language learning strategies are specific actions or techniques that learners use to assist their progress in developing second or foreign language skills (Oxford, 1990). Moreover, Language learning strategies are also believed to play a vital role in learning a second language, as they may assist learners in mastering the forms and functions required for reception and production in the second language and thus affect achievement (Bialystok, 1979). Therefore, if language educators know more about effective strategies that the learners can use, they may be able to teach these effective strategies to all language learners to help enhance them in learning the English language.

As we all know, there is a big variety of methods that students nowadays can use to help aid them in the process of English learning, and different strategies are used by different learners which vary due to different factors. The taxonomy of learning styles developed by Curry (1990) used the concepts of learning styles, student achievement, and motivation to explain the process of learning. Learning styles consist of a combination of motivation, engagement, and cognitive processing habits, which then influence the use of metacognitve

skills such as situation analysis, self-pacing, and self-evaluation to produce a learning outcome. Curry s taxonomy (1990) suggested that motivation, learning styles and student achievement are associated.

Nevertheless, in every effort there has to be challenges. Not only the students, but teachers of the English language also have to face such obstacles. Therefore this research is forever ongoing and will always be explored to help ease the process of learning. Based on this literature review, student learning styles, motivation, and attitude seem to be associated with achievement. Research is needed to understand the relationship between student achievement and the motivation and attitude of students who have different learning styles.

The biggest factor contributing to learning was motivation. Motivation influences how and why people learn as well as how they perform (Pintrich & Schunk, 1996). Motivation was found to be the best predictor of student achievement in the two studies that investigated factors influencing student achievement and effects of the factors on students achievement in learning the Japanese language through the medium of satellite television (Oxford, Park-Oh, Ito, & Sumrall, 1993a; 1993b). Moreover, in the study on predicting student success with the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), Hendrickson (1997) found that motivation and attitude were the best predictors of student grade point average.

Other minor factors may be due to the p h e n o m e n o n w he re t he le a rne rs from rura l ba ckg round fee l m uch difficulty in learning English language as compared to urban learners. Besides that, second language learners may also face

different psychological

problems

in

both

written

and

spoken

l a n g u a g e . T h e s e p r o b l e m s m a y include he s ita t ion, la ck of confide nce , st a mme ring , m umbling , t ong ue s lips , spelling mistakes, syntactic errors and etc. Regardless of all these problems, many strategies and techniques have been suggested to help them overcome their hindrance in learning English.

As Lessard-Clouston (1997:8) mentions, studies to be done on language learning strategies and strategy training should move beyond descriptive taxonomies of language learning strategies and attempt to seek for answers to a wide range of questions. What types of language learning strategies appear to work best with what learners in which contexts? Since the amount of information to be processed by language learners is high in language classroom, learners use different language learning strategies in performing the tasks and processing the new input they face. According to Fedderholdt (1997:1), the language learner capable of using a wide variety of language learning strategies appropriately can improve his language skills in a better way.

There are many ways in learning English which can grab the students attention and can furthermore enhance their ability in learning language. In knowing the various kinds of

approaches, it will give a lot of advantage in learning; therefore it can be used and applied by ESL teachers and students in the classroom or on their own.

2.3 Individual learner differences and various strategies

Students of the English language usually vary in characteristics, abilities, age, race and many more. The differences among these students makes learning methods into quite a variety and learners are divided into three types which are visual learners, auditory learners and kinesthetic learners. It was quoted from Gardner s theory of multiple intelligences that students are able to recognize and use such skills in learning English.

Among the many methods that were considered very effective were such as using a dictionary, listening/watching or using the English language daily, communicating and practicing English in their everyday lives, working/discussing or sharing ideas and information with one another or in peer groups, referring to their teacher for further information and many more.

The constructivism theory is rather similar to the Dale s Cone of experience which was pioneered by Jerome Brunner in 1996, which stated that learning is an active process where students construct knowledge or new concepts based on their experiences. Therefore, students and teachers of the English language should use learning methods which are active and practical for the language to be acquired more easily.

In finding new ways to exploit the use of learning strategies we must first pay attention to the reality that has always been around us in our daily lives such as the intrinsic motivation principle which is very powerful within the learner themselves.

In order to help English teachers to overcome the challenge of teaching students in groups in an ESL classroom, it is hoped that help English teachers can understand their

students from different cultural backgrounds better, equip them with effective learning strategies, adjust their own teaching methodology and eventually improve their English skills.

There are many ways in learning English and among the most attractive and effective approaches are through songs, videos and games. These methods will help give a lot of advantages in grabbing the students attention in acquiring the English language. The uniqueness of this strategy is that it can also be applied by engrossing it in their English language subjects. Songs are also a technique and a medium for students to convey their feelings and expressions when they receive ideas or information through understanding the context from the lyrics. Students are said to construct their knowledge by using cognitive structure according to what they have seen or heard such as music, pictures, video, drama and multimedia where the materials can be easily demonstrated, applied and practiced by the students.

More research is needed to obtain more understanding of the learning factors that influence student success in learning the English language. As an example, intrinsic motivation is motivated within the learner and their behaviors are different from one learner to another. The students vary from needs, wants, desires and behaviors. Teachers of the English language can try to consider what the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are from each student to the overall learning process and then designing classroom techniques have a much greater chance for success from the students point of view whether it is fun, interesting, useful, effective or challenging. Not only that, the learners themselves should also try using this particular technique in conquering the English language.

Around a decade ago, in the study on predicting student success with the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), Hendrickson (1997) found that motivation and attitude were the best predictors of student grade point average. Of all the learner factors, the relationship between the use of language learning strategies and success in mastering a second or foreign language has been the focus of considerable research over the past two decades (Oxford, 1989; Rubin, 1987).

The types of strategies used by different learners vary due to different factors, such as degree of awareness, stage of learning, task requirements, teacher expectations, age, sex, nationality/ethnicity, general learning style, personality traits, motivation level, and purpose for learning the language (Oxford, 1990). Moreover, other in spite of all these factors, Grainger (1997) also studied ethnic differences in language learning strategy use.

Recently, many psychologists and researchers have realized the importance of improving the teachniques and methods for learning English. Chamot and Kupper (1989) asserted that high proficiency learners know how to use appropriate strategies to reach their learning goals, while low proficiency learners are less expert in their strategy use and choice. Oxford (1985) claimed that successful language learners use a wide range of strategies that are most appropriate for their learning tasks. MacIntyre (1994) also indicated that second language learners may use strategies that make their communication more effective, informative and persuasive when they attain certain proficiency. Yang (1994) stated that perceived proficiency levels have a significant effect on

students use of learning strategies. The better students perceive their language proficiency, the more often they use various learning strategies to assist them in learning English. Therefore we can clearly say that those with less English language proficiency should seek further guidance and information from those with more knowledge. As well as the students with higher proficiency, they play a role in helping to guide such students and give them core support in learning the English language.